


I’m Always Here

by RazzleDazzleBerry



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M, Minor angst major fluff, Soft Vegeta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:15:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22884637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RazzleDazzleBerry/pseuds/RazzleDazzleBerry
Summary: Small intimate moment where Vegeta comforts a depressed Bulma
Relationships: Bulma Briefs/Vegeta
Comments: 16
Kudos: 121





	I’m Always Here

“Ahh!” Goku yelled as Vegeta’s fist connected solidly against his muscular jaw. Whis nodded a brief signal of approval at Vegeta’s progress, but quickly followed up with his long string of corrections and techniques requiring improvements. Vegeta listened intently for approximately half a minute before he felt a sharp pang deep in his chest. He glanced over his shoulder to look in the direction of his Earth home.

“Hello-ooo?” Whis stopped his instruction when it became apparent he had lost Vegeta’s attention. A sharp disciplinary tone sounded as Whis attempted to regain Vegeta’s concentration, “Vegeta! I am not interested in continuing your training if you do not pay attention!”

However, Vegeta still didn’t remove his focus from Earth. Instead he looked to Goku with determined eyes. “I need a ride.”

Meanwhile, Bulma wandered aimlessly around Capsule Corp. It was 3 in the morning, but she couldn’t sleep. Often, when she couldn’t sleep, she would tire herself in her lab by working on whatever captured her imagination. Tonight her lab was quiet. There were plenty of inventions which needed to be worked on, but nothing called out to her. So she wandered, alone and feeling empty throughout her home.

Bulma wandered past her parents’ bedroom where her father slept restlessly while her mother never failed to leave his side. Her heart ached and yearned for her once brilliant minded father who now slowly deteriorated due to a surprising Alzheimer diagnosis. It had only been a few months since they received the news from their family doctor, but the progression had been quick and devastating. The scientist who used to outsmart even the most brilliant geniuses, now whittled away before her very eyes.

A lump formed in her throat as she continued to shuffle around her home. Her children slept peacefully. The late night city sounds of West City began to die down as the clock continued to tick toward 4 am. It wouldn’t be long before the morning hustle began and the sounds of street cars blaring their horns would wake her family for the day. But still, she couldn’t sleep.

This feeling and this sleeplessness was nothing new to her. She had spent most of her life swaying between blissful highs and tragically dark lows. In fact, it was this feeling which had caused her to search for the dragon balls when she was still a kid. She had been desperate for a boyfriend, for romance, for anything that would fill the hole in her heart where loneliness, self loathing, and painful yearning for acceptance weighed heavy.  
  
Sure, she would fake confidence in her youth, but most days she would run away from school after the kids bullied her for her father’s crazy experiments. Experiments which eventually made their lives easier and earned her father billions of dollars. Still, she had never fit in anywhere back then, and, despite finding a family and community within the Z Fighters, that feeling of drowning despair had carried over into her adulthood.

Bulma finally found her way to the kitchen cabinet where she kept her antidepressants. It had been a while since she had felt she truly needed them, but her father’s deterioration coupled with Vegeta’s frequent extended absences had reopened that hole in her heart once more. She couldn’t blame either situation, and truthfully she didn’t. The diagnosis was what it was. There was no way to stop it no matter how much she wished for her father’s health to return. Not even Shenron could help while the dragon balls remained inactive.

And Vegeta. She knew training was important to him. She wouldn’t take his opportunity to grow under the guidance of a god and his angel. If she did, it would be the equivalent of someone taking away her opportunity to learn under a respected inventor. So Bulma cherished the moments when he was home, and didn’t complain while he was gone no matter how much she missed him.

Bulma poured herself a glass of water and twisted the cap off her medication before swallowing down two little white pills. Then she leaned against the kitchen counter, her lower back pressing against the cool granite, and sunk to the floor, drawing her knees to her chest.  
  
A heavy sigh escaped her. The air felt thick around her and the darkened kitchen felt lifeless. An endless stream of tears began pouring from her eyes. Bulma cried quietly, not wanting to wake anyone or alert them to the fact that she was struggling again.

She sat there, alone on the cold floor with her eyes closed in woeful surrender when she felt a warm hand touch her shoulder. She opened her eyes to find Vegeta looking deep into her own, concern reflecting within. Quickly, Bulma moved to wipe the tears from her cheeks, but Vegeta was quicker. He caught her hand and brought it to his lips. A small reassuring kiss pressed against her knuckles before he used his free hand to tilt her chin up. He placed one delicate kiss beneath each of her eyes where her tears flowed.  
  
“Vegeta…” Bulma began, but the lump in her throat choked her words.

Vegeta shook his head. “I’m here, love. I’m always here.” He then scooped Bulma off the floor and carried her back to their bedroom where he laid her on their shared bed. His armor was quickly discarded before he slipped under their sheets. Vegeta’s strong arms wrapped around Bulma’s waist and pulled her close against his chest, surrounding her with his warmth and compassion he reserved only for her and their children in the privacy of their home.  
  
Within seconds Bulma fell fast asleep. Vegeta continued to hold her tightly and placed a light kiss to her temple before whispering, “I’m always here.”


End file.
